Political scientist says Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is “creating a kind of parallel state in Russia”

Ex-criminal and then businessman, Evgueni Prigojine recently admitted that he is the head of the Wagner Group and even opened a headquarters in the center of St. Petersburg.

In September, after years of denials, Yevgeny Prigogne admitted to founding the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which is fighting privately in Ukraine. “There were very noticeable changes that happened with Prigojine for a few weeks,” explains BFMTV Vera Ageeva, professor of political science specializing in Russia and teacher at Sciences Po.

And she adds, “They say it comes from the shadows, but above all it comes from the control of the Kremlin.”

“A kind of parallel state that lives by its own rules”

“The fact that he publicly accepted to be the founder of Wagner is very new because he has denied it for years. Because in Russia, the activity of private military groups is generally prohibited,” explains the political scientist.

“This means that he openly opposes Russian law,” explains Vera Ageeva.

According to the political scientist, Yevgeny Prigozhin “is creating in Russia a kind of parallel state that lives by its own rules.” By way of illustration, the Wagner Group has opened offices in St. Petersburg.

And Vera Ageeva concludes that “the local authorities want to prevent the activity of this center, so it appears that the Russian elites are a bit embarrassed by the presence of a former criminal rising to power.”